Buenos Aires 2008 Trip Summary

Posted by JD 05/01/2008 at 16:00

Below are the links for each of the travel pages created here for the Buenos Aires Trip from April 2008.
The last link documents my love for El Cuartito pizza.

Enjoy.

Buenos Aires T+11-Sunday-1

Posted by JD 04/20/2008 at 09:13

Part 1

  • Taxi – WOW!
  • Airport/flight
  • Minibus
  • Puerto Iguazú City Bus Terminal/Hawkers | Google Map Link
  • Cataratas del Parque Nacional Iguazú | Google Map Link
  • Siesta
  • City Bus to Park
  • Moonlight view of the falls
  • Hotel

Taxi – WOW!

5am taxi pickup outside the apartment. The taxi driver would have beaten Mario Andretti in a race to the airport. Hang on, ignore red lights, and watch for other drivers doing the same was the rule. Oh, and lane markers mean nothing, even more than usual. After running a light at about 60MPH, he pulled to the right into the turn around lane crossing the road we were just on to enter the airport. The light changed for us and we started slowly across the road. Another car came flying (guess 80MPH) and seeing us, slammed on his brakes, sliding and screeching to a stop almost thru the intersection. A quick nod from my driver and I was out of the cab – AR$15 including tip.

Airport & flight

7:20am flight
Ok, so now I’m at the airport in record time 2 hours in advance. Yawn. The security isn’t open, so I camp out on the floor (no chairs exist there). Security doesn’t require taking off my boots and I’m thru with zero fuss. Waiting for 90 minutes near gate b12 or 12b until they say something in Spanish and almost everyone forms a line. There’s no boarding by zone here. The flight is uneventful – most of the emergency row seats are empty … hummmmm.

Minibus

9am-ish arrival
At the Iguazu airport, there’s a bunch of vendors and taxis trying to get you to pay way too much for a ride someplace. I ask the information booth which minibus goes to the park directly. I’m traveling very light and want to do as much of the park today as possible. There are no direct connections to the park, so I take a minibus (AR$15) to the main bus terminal in the town. Along the way, a Dutch girl, Fleur, and I chat a few minutes.

Puerto Iguazú City Bus Terminal & Hawkers

Then I walk the gauntlet of hawkers selling packages inside the terminal building. Each claims to be Information, but really they are trying to sell you a boat ride and more. English barely exists here and the physical layout is less than ideal for determining where the actual bus terminal ticket window is – I never found it or perhaps it doesn’t exist. Anyway, after talking with 3 different windows, I purchase 2 one-way tickets on the city bus to the national park and head towards bus boarding area 11. AR$4 each way. Up and over the bus loading area and stand where a bunch of others are also standing. There’s the no. 11 – good. The bus winds around the town for a few stops then heads back towards the airport. Along the way, the same Dutch girl, Fleur, gets on the full bus. I’ve since learned that by just standing at the no. 11 bus boarding area and paying AR$4 as you get on, you can ride the bus to the falls without dealing with any hawkers. Don’t expect any English from the drivers.

Cataratas del Parque Nacional Iguazú

10:45a-ish – AR$40 for foreigners (AR$14 for Argentines). Fleur speaks advanced Spanish, nice. We decide to hike the trails together – working backwards from the normal tourist order. This was recommended by Jim based on his trip here in December. Using this reversed viewing, we begin with a distant view of the falls and some close views of the Inferior Falls. We build to larger and larger falls with closer and closer views over the day. [[Iguazu Trails in Order]]
The free boat trip to the island provides 3 more views of the medium sized falls – medium is like Niagara I hear. The initial steps from the boat onto the center of the island was very strenuous. Possibly the most difficult climb I’ve done – even more so than the mountain in Costa Rica. A Boat ride back from the island, and around other lower trails. All along the way we see wildlife – butterflies, spiders, rodents, birds and mammals. I’ll have to look up the names later.
Next is the Superior trail where we walk over the edge and falls we’ve been viewing all morning.
To be clear, most of the tails are rock or steel. I don’t think I stepped on dirt all day except sand on the island. Food and water were readily available and expensive – 3x normal prices or more. In this part of the world, tap water isn’t safe to drink.
After the superior trail, we catch the free train and head to the devil’s throat – Garganta del Diablo. This is about a half mile steel walkway out over the river feeding the falls you’ve already seen with a few islands along the way. Tons of butterflies all along. The steel ends on at the falls edge with a fantastic view. Take your own photos and/or pay the photographers there for unbelievable photos of you, your group and the falls. I’ve seen the results – but if you’re still reading this, you know how cheap I am. Staring into the falls for hours is easy. I’m soaked multiple times from a mix of sweat and mist. It dries quickly each time. The temperature was only mid-80s, but I was very near heat exhaustion due to the high humidity and exertion climbing steps. I saw 2 older people sitting on the steel trail – who appeared to have collapsed. They were being helped by the park and their families.
It is getting late and both of us feel done for the day. On the way out, Fleur and I commit to the dinner and moonlight viewing package (AR$95 ea).